Title 56, Motor Vehicles

Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter, the Department of Motor Vehicles may grant to any other state, country, territory or district reciprocity with respect to the operation of any vehicles in this State without being registered and licensed under the provisions of this…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall design and supply, at an appropriate fee, a special license plate, or supplemental plate or attachment, for use on all publicly-owned motor vehicles operated by any department or institution of the State of South Carolina, or any of its poli…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may register and license vehicles as required by this chapter upon application being made therefor by the owner and the required fees paid as provided in this chapter. (B) If a commercial motor vehicle is registered through the International R…

(A) As used in this article, "handicapped" means a person who has one or more of the following conditions: (1) an inability to ordinarily walk one hundred feet nonstop without aggravating an existing medical condition, including the increase of pain; (2) an inability to ordinaril…

(A) An identification placard must be issued to a hearing impaired licensed driver upon application. The application is to be on a form prescribed by the department and may be made in person or by mail. The application must include an original certificate from a licensed physicia…

(A) Each county shall mail motor vehicle registration and licensing renewal notices to the owners of vehicles in the county as determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles no later than forty-five days before expiration of the registration. The renewal notices, including the fe…

As used in this article: (1) "Handicapped" means a person as defined in Section 56-3-1910. (2) "Access aisle" means a designated space for maneuvering a wheelchair or other mobility device when entering or exiting a vehicle, and that is immediately adjacent to a properly designat…

(A) A person who is "handicapped" as defined in Section 56-3-1910 may apply to the department for issuance of a temporary or permanent placard. A person may be issued a temporary placard if the condition causing his handicap is expected to last for at least four months. No applic…

Those municipalities having marked parking spaces shall provide appropriately designated space or spaces reserved for the parking of handicapped persons. A person who is handicapped as defined in this article must be allowed to park in metered or timed parking places without bein…

(A) It is unlawful to park any vehicle in a parking place clearly designated for handicapped persons unless the vehicle bears the distinguishing license plate or placard provided in Section 56-3-1960. (B) It is unlawful for any person who is not handicapped or who is not transpor…

All law enforcement officers issuing tickets on public and private property and state law enforcement division licensed security officers of shopping centers and business and commercial establishments, which provide parking spaces designated for handicapped persons, are authorize…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall have the uniform parking violations ticket printed. The department may authorize a law enforcement agency to automate the issuance of uniform parking violations tickets. Law enforcement and security agencies shall order tickets from the depa…

A person who wilfully and intentionally violates the provisions of Section 56-3-1973 is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than fifteen hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months, or both, for e…

Each handicapped parking place must be clearly identified as a handicapped parking place. The handicapped parking place includes all access aisles. If the handicapped parking place is on public property, the marker must be maintained by the political subdivision having jurisdicti…

For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases are defined as follows: (1) Reserved. (2) Reserved. (3) Reserved. (4) Reserved. (5) "Authorized emergency vehicle" means vehicles of the fire department (fire patrol), police vehicles, and the ambulances and emergency …

Except in the case of a moped or as otherwise provided for in Chapter 19 of this title, the department shall not register or renew the registration of a vehicle unless a certificate of title has been issued by the department to the owner or an application has been delivered by th…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles shall provide, upon proper application being made, special personalized motor vehicle license plates to the owner of a private passenger motor vehicle and motorcycles. The personalized plates must be of the design and bear the letters and nume…

The fee for the issue of special personalized motor vehicle license plates is thirty dollars biennially in addition to the regular motor vehicle registration fee set forth in Article 5, Chapter 3 of this title. This revenue must be deposited to the state general fund. The fee is …

Special personalized plates may not be issued to any applicant whose operator's or chauffeur's license has been suspended or revoked within two years from the date of application or to any applicant whose driving record indicates a disregard of traffic violations or unsafe drivin…

(A)(1) The department is authorized to administer a program for and regulate the issuance of temporary license plates for items required to be registered in this State and items that are purchased in this State that may be registered in a foreign jurisdiction. (2) The department,…

The department, licensed dealers, leasing companies, and other entities may issue temporary license plates to operate any item that is purchased in this State that may be registered in a foreign jurisdiction and farm trucks registered in another jurisdiction that are harvesting a…

Any common carrier engaged in the transportation of house trailers by the haulaway method and which has registered according to the laws of this State with the Public Service Commission, whether engaged in interstate or intrastate operations, or both, may purchase license plates …

(A) The department, licensed dealers, leasing companies, and other entities may issue temporary license plates to operate any item that will be registered in this State or vehicles used solely for corporate research and development. In the case of the need to move trailers and se…

The carrier shall pay twelve dollars and fifty cents for the first such license plate and six dollars each for additional plates and the highway safety fee authorized by Section 56-3-810.

(A) The department may issue solely to South Carolina residents, as proven by showing their driver's license or identification card issued by the department, special permits to operate any item otherwise required to be registered under this title when the item does not display th…

The plate shall be displayed on the rear end of the house trailer being towed and be transferable from one house trailer to another, but shall be used only on a house trailer that is in the custody of the common carrier. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall have a special plate…

(A) The department shall implement a quality assurance program to ensure the integrity of the electronic registration and titling program. Pursuant to this section, the quality assurance entity shall perform quality assurance reviews of data and submitted forms through the electr…

The Department of Motor Vehicles shall honor similar plates from other states, if such states honor the South Carolina plates for house trailers authorized by this article.

The Department of Motor Vehicles may issue special motor vehicle license plates to former members of the South Carolina Delegation of the United States Congress, retired judicial officers elected by the General Assembly or confirmed by the United States Senate, respectively, memb…

The special plates must be of the same size as regular motor vehicle license plates, but must be of a distinctive design and bear letters and numerals the Department of Motor Vehicles prescribes. The plates must be issued or revalidated biennially for the regular registration and…

The license plate issued pursuant to this article may be transferred to another vehicle of the same weight class owned by the same person upon application being made to and approved by the Department of Motor Vehicles. It is unlawful for a person to whom this plate has been issue…

The provisions of this article do not affect the registration and licensing of motor vehicles as required by other provisions of this chapter but are cumulative to them. A person violating the provisions of this article or a person who fraudulently gives false or fictitious infor…

Every motor vehicle as herein defined which is over twenty-five years old, is owned solely as a collector's item and is used for participation in club activities, exhibits, tours, parades, and similar uses, but in no event used for general transportation, may be classified by the…

Upon receipt of an application on a form prescribed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, it may issue appropriate designated license plates to owners of antique motor vehicles. Such license plate shall be valid so long as title to such vehicle is vested in the applicant. The fee …

(a) Every motorcycle over twenty-five years old, which is owned solely as a collector's item and is used for participation in club activities, exhibits, tours, parades and similar uses, but is not used for general transportation, may be classified by the Department of Motor Vehic…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles may provide, upon request, a sample motor vehicle license plate. The license plate shall be of the same size and general design of regular motor vehicle license plates. The fee for issuance of such license plate shall be ten dollars. The depar…

Every owner of a vehicle subject to registration and for which a license is required shall make application to the Department of Motor Vehicles for the registration and licensing of the vehicle upon the appropriate forms furnished by the department. Every application must bear th…

(A)(1) Upon application being made and the required fee being paid to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the department may issue dealer license plates to a licensed motor vehicle dealer. The license plates, notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, may be …

A person who misuses a dealer license plate issued pursuant to this article must be fined three hundred dollars or forfeit the dealer license plate, or both.

(A) Upon application and payment of the required fee, the Department of Motor Vehicles may issue not more than five hundred manufacturer license plates to a motor vehicle manufacturer. The license plates must be used exclusively on motor vehicles, including motorcycles, owned or …

(A) Upon application and payment of the required fee, the Department of Motor Vehicles may issue a standard license plate to a manufacturer for vehicles it has manufactured and which are used in a benefit program for the manufacturer's employees or used by the manufacturer for te…

(A) As used in this section: (1) "Research and development business" or "business" means a person who manufacturers tires or transmissions in this State for use as original or replacement equipment on motor vehicles and who conducts research and development activities on tires or…

(A) The Department of Motor Vehicles, or its designated agent, shall require licensed motor vehicle dealers to issue temporary motor vehicle registrations and temporary license plates directly from the dealership. Unless disallowed by the department, any dealership that begins a …

(A) Upon application being made and the required fee being paid to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the department may issue antique dealer license plates to a licensed motor vehicle dealer. The license plates, notwithstanding other provisions of this chapter to the contrary, ma…

(A) For purposes of this section "financial institution" means a supervised financial organization as defined in Section 37-1-301(27) or a supervised lender as defined in Section 37-3-501(2). (B) A financial institution engaged in the business of repossessing vehicles or acceptin…

Registrants licensed under this article shall notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of any change of address of his principal place of business within thirty days after such change is made, and the Department may cancel the registration and all license plates issued upon failur…